Chinese retailers have bet heavily and now the time has come to reap the benefits of this investment: the focus on building intelligent warehouses (facilities structurally adapted to integrate robotics technology, automation and Artificial Intelligence) begins to bear fruit, inaugurations in Hong Kong. The first totally autonomous warehouse (and therefore, without the use of human hands) is already in operation.

 

As smart warehouses prove their value and reliability within the logistics chain, investors are losing the typical skepticism of those who reluctantly see the economic-financial gamble on total automation. From 2017 to the present, this investment has increased significantly in China, with more space to be converted by entrepreneurs in the logistics sector. According to The Wall Street Journal, this could translate into an economic equation totally for the owners of the warehouses.

 

In the USA the question is: who pays for the upgrades?

In this chapter, China goes ahead, clearing the way - in the United States the guidelines for the evolution of intelligent warehouses are not yet clear, since, according to the American newspaper, owners and renters disagree as to who should pay for the upgrades made, which can cost between 150/200 dollars per square meter. Smart warehouses do not stick to the addition of cutting edge technology: buildings themselves require structural upgrades to assimilate and integrate new equipment - all of these upgrades can raise the cost of labor.

 

According to Eric Frankel, a senior analyst at Green Street Advisors, cost is in fact the biggest obstacle to adoption in the US, but it is not the only one. "The question of who pays is probably the biggest obstacle; another is the nature of logistics companies, which generally have low credit quality and value flexibility, since their contracts with customers last only a few years, "Frankel told the Supply Chain Dive.

 

Retail companies like JD.com and Alibaba are investing heavily in state-of-the-art technology for their warehouses, making IT decisions and upgrades simpler, but for warehouse operators and homeowners, the ideal way to set up a deposit to suit all corners is a difficult task. "Any new customer would probably need a different set of equipment / robotics / machinery within a distribution center," added Frankel.

 

Source, Revista Cargo.